I've gone 4th. A mix of delusion and not thinking the rest of the also rans arent actually as good as they are made out to be. Liverpool with the klopp hangover, Newcastles paper thin squad, Ange's spurs second season meltdown, United are sh*te, Villa have the europe distraction. 

Yeah we have a huge squad and a unknown in charge, but we have some very good players and a HELL of a lot of depth. 

3 hours ago, Niall1905 said:

I've gone 4th. A mix of delusion and not thinking the rest of the also rans arent actually as good as they are made out to be. Liverpool with the klopp hangover, Newcastles paper thin squad, Ange's spurs second season meltdown, United are sh*te, Villa have the europe distraction. 

Yeah we have a huge squad and a unknown in charge, but we have some very good players and a HELL of a lot of depth. 

I've gone 4th too not sure if it is just blue-sky thinking  though by mid November think we will have a better idea.

What are we thinking at this point? One third of the season done.

I'll go top two at this point. Arsenal and City aren't what they used to be.

I’ve gone for fourth. Haven’t really been fully tested yet and will find the inevitable banana skins. Hopefully we can keep key players fit. 

11 minutes ago, PhilH930 said:

I’ve gone for fourth. Haven’t really been fully tested yet and will find the inevitable banana skins. Hopefully we can keep key players fit. 

How so?

After the opener blip, the only team we lost to sits above us. Against the side we share 2nd with, we came back from going a goal down to levelling it? Matter of fact, we did that on a handful of big matches this season. 

The only test, is how we manage both Champions League and Premier League next season. But I would assume the directors know that we need a heavy squad to manage both. 

6 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

How so?

After the opener blip, the only team we lost to sits above us. Against the side we share 2nd with, we came back from going a goal down to levelling it? Matter of fact, we did that on a handful of big matches this season. 

The only test, is how we manage both Champions League and Premier League next season. But I would assume the directors know that we need a heavy squad to manage both. 

True with opposition. Just not used to having such good squad availability and a heavier schedule on key players. That’s the test I was referring to. But you’re right when it comes to opposition - there was a point before the last international break we’d played 6 of the top 8 teams, and we can’t play against ourselves! 

I'm also mindful of when a slump comes along, which it does for all teams. But right now it all looks good! 

5 minutes ago, PhilH930 said:

True with opposition. Just not used to having such good squad availability and a heavier schedule on key players. That’s the test I was referring to. But you’re right when it comes to opposition - there was a point before the last international break we’d played 6 of the top 8 teams, and we can’t play against ourselves! 

I'm also mindful of when a slump comes along, which it does for all teams. But right now it all looks good! 

I mean our own fans criticized the directors for making the team bloated with midfield and attacking quality. Never made sense to me. It's something I've always defended and we are joint 2nd for that very reason. We probably have the best depth in the league. 

As far as your part in bold, our injuries last season were probably down to using that 3rd party medical team on top of Poch's rigorous training methods. A lot of these players can't play twice a week right now given their age and injury history which is why we need to really strengthen next summer. 

Who's on the right track?

32 minutes ago, Valerie said:

Who's on the right track?

I'd say 37 people are still in with a shout (3rd and below all still possible)

Only those who picked top 2 are completely out of it.

Getting awful tight in that top half now.

We cling on to 4th, but only 5 points separate us from 10th, and all the teams below us in the top half are in much better form.

Not looking good at all ...

Edited March 16, 20251 yr by Sexyfootball

If Enzo stays as expected, my prediction is 8th.

Only 8/46 people thought we'd finish higher than 4th, where we are currently, and 31/46 thought we'd finish below.

Feel like the early season form might've inflated expectations.

At the start of the season I went for 7th and I reckon that is still about where we will finish. Given our declining form (in particular away from home), I don't see any way we finish top 4. Perhaps saving ourselves the embarrassment of a humiliation in next year's Champs League if we did qualify.

At this rate, I'll take the 5th spot and Champions League generosity... But im not expecting above 6 anymore.

Sixth or seventh.

On 09/08/2024 at 14:55, Remodez said:

I think we will finish 6th again but we have to finish top 4 and get a cup otherwise there was no point in bringing in a new manager. 

Still possible to get 6th but feeling less confident. City game in hand, Brighton haven't lost in 5 games, Fulham only 2 loses in 6 games, even Brentford and Palace are making a late push and Palace still have a game in hand too.

13 minutes ago, Remodez said:

Still possible to get 6th but feeling less confident. City game in hand, Brighton haven't lost in 5 games, Fulham only 2 loses in 6 games, even Brentford and Palace are making a late push and Palace still have a game in hand too.

Newcastle game in hand, isn't it? Not City. Win that and they're above us.

3 minutes ago, Ukraine Bolt said:

Newcastle game in hand, isn't it? Not City. Win that and they're above us.

Yeah Newcastle, not sure why I thought it was City. They got Brentford at home, should be winning that.

I went 8th - 10th in August. With how weak this league has been this season possibly 6th - 8th may paper over the cracks. Frankly wherever we come has little resonance with me. I'm a Chelsea fan because i want to be able to see my team play entertaining, attractive football. With the abomination being served up by this fraud, this might as well be one of those Football Manager games where the computer plays itself and all you are interested in is plotting the results. At least we wouldn't be subjected to the shocking levels being put out by us now.

I believe there are 11 teams in this league that are better than us (There are 17 teams in this league more entertaining than us as well)

The Poch hangover has saved us with the early season form.

We’ll finish 9th or 10th and we’ll do it in the most boring fashion known to man.

Just did the football prediction from the other thread that @Ukraine Bolt put up and we finish 10th.

I would be more than happy with that if it meant the end of Maresca but no doubt the arseholes who run our club will be patting themselves and him on the back and we'll look forward to more of the same dross next season.

On 09/08/2024 at 07:43, Sconnie Blue said:

I think if the directors want to retain some of the fans' trust back, we need to be finishing Top 4. 

We were on an upward trajectory under Poch and with new signings + injured players coming back, there was very good chance we would've done so. We've now hit the reset button again by getting rid of him. This essentially means they believe Maresca is the one who can guarantee a Champions League finish. If not, then they are deliberately self sabotaging given the trajectory this team was under Poch. 

 

Conference League + Top 4 minimum. 

Still holds true.

The best we can hope for is a Europa Conference win which will get us into the Europa.

It’s still awful given how poor quality the league is.

A disappointing 6th just outside of Champions League positions.

9 hours ago, Nibs said:

Just did the football prediction from the other thread that @Ukraine Bolt put up and we finish 10th.

I would be more than happy with that if it meant the end of Maresca but no doubt the arseholes who run our club will be patting themselves and him on the back and we'll look forward to more of the same dross next season.

Even if they decided to part ways with Maresca based on a 10th place finish, realistically who do you think they would bring in? I wouldn't trust them to pick a better manager. It will basically be another "yes" candidate that is prepared to follow the lead from SD's and owners.